I was cleaning off my desk the other day and found a brochure that Comcast sent me back in October or November.

It described the glories of the cable company's free on-demand service. It touted the many episodes of shows on many cable channels I could watch whenever I wanted. In short, it said the on-demand service was Comcastic.

Being a former Adelphia cutomer, I had always disliked Adelphia's on-demand service. It was slow and the interface was quirky and the choices were limited. So I was looking forward to the new Comcastic one.

I called the company and was told the new on-demand service would be available right after Thanksgiving. When that didn't happen, I called back and was told there had been some delays and the service would be ready in early December.

When that didn't happen, I called back and was told it had been delayed until after the New Year.

Well, here it is January 14 and I'm still waiting. Now that doesn't mean nothing has happened. I noticed the other day the Adelphia logo had been replaced by the Comcast logo.

And, to be fair, I have always had HBO on-demand, just the same as I had from Adelphia.

But when I try to choose cable programs on demand, I get a message "this service temporarily unavailable." Temporarily is now stretching into its third month.

Now I realize taking over a cable system is no small matter. But it seems to me with Verizon breathing down their necks, the folks at Comcast should be a little more mindful of the level of service they offer new television customers.

Is it just me or have others had less than a Comcastic experience with their new cable provider?

First Published: January 14, 2007, 5:00 a.m.